Improving young people's (YP) mental health and well-being is a global public health priority. Despite continued commitment within the UK policy agenda to improve the mental health and well-being of YP, the incidence of mental health issues continues to rise. This has been further compounded by the outbreak of COVID-19 which has disproportionately affected YP in the most socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. Understanding YP's perspectives on what supports their mental health is important to develop policies that meet their needs. We conducted focus groups (n = 18 with 42 YP aged 13–21) in three geographical areas with high levels of deprivation in England, UK. Recruited through six local youth organisations, each group of YP took part in three interlinked focus groups designed to explore their perceptions of what impacts their health in their local area, and their understandings of health inequalities through participatory methods. Throughout their discussions, YP foregrounded the significance of mental health and mental health support structures. YP perceived challenges to accessing mental health provision and an unmet need for support within their local communities. Alongside this, YP consistently highlighted the importance of youth groups for promoting good mental health and mitigating challenges to poor mental health. However, ongoing cuts to the voluntary sector and universal services continue to impact areas and individuals in the greatest need. In the face of deficits in formal mental health support, our findings highlight the pressing need for increased investment in services focused on prevention (such as youth groups) in areas of high deprivation.

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探索年轻人对心理健康支持的看法：英国英格兰三个地理区域的定性研究

改善年轻人 (YP) 的心理健康和福祉是全球公共卫生的优先事项。尽管英国政策议程继续致力于改善 YP 的心理健康和福祉，但心理健康问题的发生率仍在上升。COVID-19 的爆发进一步加剧了这种情况，它对社会经济最不利地区的 YP 产生了不成比例的影响。了解 YP 对支持他们心理健康的因素的看法对于制定满足他们需求的政策很重要。我们进行了焦点小组讨论（n = 18 名，其中 42 名 YP 年龄在 13-21 岁之间）在英国英格兰三个贫困程度较高的地理区域。通过六个当地青年组织招募，每组 YP 都参加了三个相互关联的焦点小组，旨在通过参与式方法探索他们对影响当地健康的因素的看法，以及他们对健康不平等的理解。在整个讨论过程中，YP 强调了心理健康和心理健康支持结构的重要性。YP 认为在获得心理健康服务方面存在挑战，并且当地社区的支持需求未得到满足。除此之外，YP 始终强调青年团体对于促进良好的心理健康和减轻对心理健康不佳的挑战的重要性。然而，对志愿部门和普遍服务的持续削减继续影响最需要帮助的地区和个人。面对正规心理健康支持的不足，我们的研究结果强调迫切需要增加对高度贫困地区以预防为重点的服务（例如青年团体）的投资。